Weekly Wellbeing 

Habits

Over the past week it has been fascinating to observe the ways in which my family have quickly reverted to ‘lockdown habits’, this includes my daughter making chocolate covered fruit, watching more news, people staying in their pjamas all day and my son ‘nagging’ me to watch Marvel movies with him.

So much has been written about habits and why we have them. From my perspective (because I have little time to read all of the books about habits!), habits/routines are a way of us coping with the challenges that we face. Some habits that we adopt are good and help us to stay physically and mentally fit (like walking ‘unplugged’ in nature, playing games with our children, turning off screens for a time), while other habits are not so good for us (sitting a lot, eating a lot of foods high in salt, fat and sugar etc) and have longer term impacts.

Dr B.J Fogg from Stanford University has developed the concept of ‘tiny habits’. His life’s work is to help people to be happier and healthier. A ‘tiny habit’ is a behaviour that you do at least once a day, takes you less than 30 seconds to do and requires little effort. Click here to learn more.

Pure joy

I don’t know about you, but as I get older, simple things warm my heart; listening to the birds welcome the morning, driving down suburban streets as the sun’s rays hit the multi-coloured leaves of the trees, the smile of a baby and seeing these photos!

We just purchased a Nudel Kart. It consists of 236 individual pieces and has been designed to foster STEM and 21st Century skills as well as facilitate creative and unstructured play for children aged 3-12 (https://www.nudelkart.com/). Over the past couple of weeks, children have been asked to ‘have a play’. Staff have been ‘blown away’ by what children have made and are excited about the endless possibilities that this cart will unlock. Thank’s Dylan for demonstrating your many skills with the Nudel Kart.

Worries

Last year I created a ‘Worry Workshop’ presentation. In light of our current circumstances. I have attached it again. The aim is for parents/guardians to watch it in the hope that some sections may be Please note that during this time, the Wellbeing team are actively supporting children and families. Please contact Carol Wyatt if you need any support.

Please check out the ‘Community News’ page for some excellent resources that have come across my desk lately.

Until next time,

Julie Reid, on behalf of the Wellbeing team